SPRINGFIELD, IL--(Marketwired - April 23, 2013) - Thousands of students have benefited from classroom projects funded through DonorsChoose.org and Horace Mann's "Imagine A Classroom" campaign which just concluded. Throughout the six-month campaign, Horace Mann-affiliated schools across the country shared $250,000 in funding, ultimately helping bring 2,530 classroom projects from imagination to realization. These projects represented 2,300 teachers, 1,485 schools, and more than 285,000 students.

The Horace Mann Companies plans to donate another $500,000 to DonorsChoose.org in 2013 to help assure teachers have the tools they need to bring out the best in their students. Horace Mann agents also continue to support classroom projects by donating to programs in the school communities they serve.

Teachers have submitted projects for weather stations, tools to help with social disorders, and even iPads to help students get excited about reading. Horace Mann agents will often visit schools to help show teachers how to post a DonorsChoose.org project. Teachers say it's a great way to get supplies for their classroom in these tight budget times.

About Horace Mann

Horace Mann is the largest national multiline insurance company focusing on educators' financial needs. Horace Mann provides auto and homeowners insurance, retirement annuities, life insurance and other financial solutions. Founded by Educators for Educators® in 1945, the company is headquartered in Springfield, Ill. For more information about the company, visit www.horacemann.com.

Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit website where public school teachers describe specific educational projects for their students, and donors can choose the projects they want to support. To date, almost 145,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $176 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that have supported 8.7 million students.